40 Years of Cartmore: 1986–2026

Humble Beginnings
2026 marks 40 years since the formation of Cartmore Building Supply Co Ltd. Originally located at Cartmore Industrial Estate in Lochgelly, the company moved premises in 2021 to its current location at the former Andrews Antennae building at The Avenue, Lochgelly.

Our humble beginnings – day one with no customers and no stock – led to “progress” with a leaky timber shed, and then the use of the old pit head baths of the Nelly Pit in Lochgelly as office and storage facilities. This “progress” is fondly remembered by co-founder Gordon Banks. From those roots, the company has grown into one of Scotland’s leading builders’ merchants.

Industry Recognition and Membership
Cartmore are founding members of The National Buying Group LLP and longstanding members of The Builders Merchant Federation, where Gordon Banks serves as Chair of the BMF in Scotland.

Trusted by Scotland’s Housebuilders
Over the last 40 years, Cartmore has developed into a major merchant for many of Scotland’s national house builders, including Barratt, Bellway, Millers, Springfield, Places for People and Dandara, as well as many of Scotland’s leading regional housing developers such as Campion Homes, Quale Homes, Easy Living, Allanwater, and Muir Homes.

From Pens and Paper to Automation
Now operating from two branches — Denny (following 13 years at Polmont) and Lochgelly — the business is largely automated, with computers, cloud servers, online and radio advertising, mechanical offloading of HGVs, forklifts and mechanical shovels replacing pens, handwritten invoices, purchase orders and VAT books, newspaper advertising, fax machines, a tractor and trailer, and plain brute strength and shovels.

Cartmore now operates Scotland’s first FIBO concrete, mortar and screed plant, servicing the DIY market as well as landscapers and major developers.

An Award-Winning Business
Looking back to 1986, it was never imagined that Cartmore would develop into a UK award-winning company — but that is exactly what has happened, with the installation of groundbreaking hard landscaping displays at both Lochgelly and Denny.

A Team Built on Experience
Cartmore’s staff bring over 800 years of combined experience in the construction sector between them, and employees such as John Wardrope and Alan Bremner have been with the company since its very early days.

Everest by the Numbers
Today, the number of bulk bagged materials sold annually by the company would measure over 18,000 metres in height if stacked on top of each other — that’s over twice the height of Mount Everest.

Gordon Banks on 40 Years
The changes that have taken place over 40 years are mind-boggling. As Gordon Banks reflects: “The last 40 years seems to have gone in a flash but there have been so many changes in how business is done when compared with 1986. Plus, many employees have grown up in Cartmore and now in some instances their family members are also employed in the business.”